Comments on: Former Indianapolis Mayor Joins Bloomberg Administrationhttp://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/30/former-indianapolis-mayor-joins-bloomberg-administration/
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By: andrew/silvestrihttp://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/30/former-indianapolis-mayor-joins-bloomberg-administration/comment-page-1/#comment-760319
Thu, 16 Sep 2010 03:44:38 +0000http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/30/former-indianapolis-mayor-joins-bloomberg-administration/#comment-760319ythis guy bloomberg is a real jerk king moron what kind of guy runs a city like a dictartor
]]>By: john mc corkhill, jr.http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/30/former-indianapolis-mayor-joins-bloomberg-administration/comment-page-1/#comment-688309
Wed, 09 Jun 2010 20:36:22 +0000http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/30/former-indianapolis-mayor-joins-bloomberg-administration/#comment-688309I worked for Mr. Goldsmith as his fleet services director in Indy and although we had many major differences of opinion about how the City of Indianapolis fleet should be managed, I had great respect for his boldness in introducing outsourcing to a city government that at the time needed to be broken and rebuilt from the ground up. Fortunately for me at the time, I came from the private sector and knew how to run a business and coupled with my ability to work with a union workforce my team of employees and I were able to compete against the private sector and win a ‘contract’ with the city to continue maintaining and managing the city’s fleet of vehicles. In looking back I feel we were better off by being challenged by Mr. Goldsmith and there is no doubt in my mind that he is the best person to help Mayor Bloomberg tackle some very difficult issues facing NYC.
]]>By: G.M. Davishttp://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/30/former-indianapolis-mayor-joins-bloomberg-administration/comment-page-1/#comment-670877
Fri, 07 May 2010 20:21:41 +0000http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/30/former-indianapolis-mayor-joins-bloomberg-administration/#comment-670877Is Mr. Goldsmith an intelligent, articulate person? Yes, quite. Did he do some good things while mayor of Indianapolis, and has he been on the right side of some issues? Certainly. However, here are 3 of the questionable policies that he oversaw while in Indy:

a. His transportation head, Mitch Roob, now a state official in Indiana, once stood before a large audience in the City-County Council chambers and proclaimed that public transportation is primarily for the poor, the handicapped and senior citizens, and that Indy did not have the population density, need or desire to support public transit for the masses.
This explains in part why Indy’s public transit system to this day is the most underfunded and least accessible of any large city in the nation. Goldsmith will be overseeing transportation in NYC.
b. Goldsmith will also be providing oversight for environmental matters in NYC. When a group of environmental leaders in Indiana explained to Mayor Goldsmith that Indy needed to develop more markets for recyclables in order to grow its minimalist recycling program, he did not know what such markets were or how to develop them, and did not show much interest in pursuing the matter. Environmenal officials in his administration carried little clout.
c. When Mayor Goldsmith took office, the City of Indianapolis had an active wellness program for its employees that was in place and functioning well. The program was operated by a contracted medical firm made up of physicians, administrators, nurse practitioners, physical therapists and other key medical staff. The program was of benefit to employees and was a real plus for the City. Goldsmith’s response was to dump the properly-functioning wellness firm–and “privatize” something that was already privatized–by replacing it with a contractor of his personal choice. No explanation was given as to why the original wellness provider was abruptly replaced. “Privatization” was Goldsmith’s mantra. However, since he has spent most of his life in government or academia, it’s possible that he is not the best judge of when a city contract is a good one for citizens and employees–and when it is not.

]]>By: Chrishttp://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/30/former-indianapolis-mayor-joins-bloomberg-administration/comment-page-1/#comment-665607
Mon, 03 May 2010 14:45:29 +0000http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/30/former-indianapolis-mayor-joins-bloomberg-administration/#comment-665607I grew up in Indy. Let’s hope he doesn’t do for NYC what he did for my hometown. His entire privatization scheme was nothing more than a program to sell off city assets to the GOP cronies on the Capital Investment Board (CIB) who knew that Indy was shifting to the Democrats as the suburbs expanded outside Marion County. My folks still live in Indy, and–except for a cluster of improvement downtown–the city is doing far worse. Goldsmith was a stooge for the CIB in Indy. I have a feeling Bloomberg has found the perfect patsy to take the heat for tough decisions in NYC. This is gonna be fun to watch.
]]>By: John Vorehttp://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/30/former-indianapolis-mayor-joins-bloomberg-administration/comment-page-1/#comment-665527
Mon, 03 May 2010 11:46:34 +0000http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/30/former-indianapolis-mayor-joins-bloomberg-administration/#comment-665527As a Marion County Prosecutor, Goldsmith comes from the Woodrow Myers school of thinking. Does NY remember him?

Goldsmith used AIDS to scare potential parties into cooperation during a late-80s press conference, then lied about it on-the-record. How do I know? Because I’m the one who interviewed him.

“Non-partisan” Republicans, don’t exist. He was anti-gay as Mayor (if I’m not incorrect), and his views on people with AIDS hardly moderated. But by then, I had moved to graduate school and was writing a novel partly about closeted gay politicians in Indiana, a phenom unrelated to Goldsmith, but one which has cross-party flair in Indiana.

Regardless of Mayor Bloomberg’s attention, one hopes the future Deputy Mayor is at least interviewed regarding his views about the LGBTQ population, HIV, and AIDS. Unless he’s spent so much time away from Indiana (like Dan Coats), I imagine his conservative, anti-progressive views haven’t changed much.

]]>By: Ralph Brasketthttp://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/30/former-indianapolis-mayor-joins-bloomberg-administration/comment-page-1/#comment-664493
Sun, 02 May 2010 00:19:04 +0000http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/30/former-indianapolis-mayor-joins-bloomberg-administration/#comment-664493An inspired choice. Perhaps he could advise our new Gov. Christie
on efficiencies in our state & local governments in his spare time.
We need effective cuts in all government levels, not just cuts to public
transit, education & libraries.
Ralph Braskett.
]]>By: kentnichhttp://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/30/former-indianapolis-mayor-joins-bloomberg-administration/comment-page-1/#comment-664431
Sat, 01 May 2010 17:56:55 +0000http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/30/former-indianapolis-mayor-joins-bloomberg-administration/#comment-664431This article is curious. As are the responses. A quick google search of Goldsmith shows just how little research the Times did on this guy. Yes, everything they say he did, he did. But it’s also clear that his actions had consequences, some good and some bad. By privatizing city services to the degree he did (and he actually put everything up for bid), he sent profits away from the city into corporate hands. He did manage to keep taxes down, but user fees went UP… so the average citizen actually ended up paying more with the appearance of paying less because their tax bill went down. He only stopped the privatizing cycle when he started letting government agencies bid alongside of corporations and some of them bid LOWER than the corporations (which also meant the city kept the user fees – AKA taxes). Also of note, the murder rate in Indy skyrocketed during his tenure. And he’ll be in charge of our police force. He’s hardly non-partisan, having been in charge of Bush’s faith based volunteer initiatives. And is clearly part of the GOP elite having been praised regularly by the likes of Newt Gingrich.

Some of what he did was truly innovative and worked, But there’s another side to the story and I am disappointed that the Times didn’t dig deeper than the press release.

]]>By: mjcveritashttp://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/30/former-indianapolis-mayor-joins-bloomberg-administration/comment-page-1/#comment-664421
Sat, 01 May 2010 17:18:29 +0000http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/30/former-indianapolis-mayor-joins-bloomberg-administration/#comment-664421Great– Bloomberg now has somebody second-in-command who couldn’t be more unreflective of NYC and her people– a McCain-PALIN supporter, a Bush consigliere, and a GOP operative. Bloomberg seems destined to step to lower depths than those embellished by the Tammany Era.

It can be inferred, just by the allegiances I mentioned supra, that Goldsmith is “pro-life,” pro-gun, faithful to preemptive war doctrine, torture, and notions of the unbridled “unitary executive” conviction. That, and the fact this person has never even lived in NYC; that a “learning curve” is even being entertained, is in my view reprehensible, and precisely reflective of just how overtly disengaged, unconnected, and out of touch “Mayor Mike” is. Bloomberg in this case has proved once again what a historically fitful and impotently incompetent charlatan “leader ” he has become. Bloomberg’s city is not ours, it’s his narcissistic fetish for greed and quick revenue, dangerously misguided by his delusion he’s forming a legacy that has empowered and bettered our town. Political science would simply call Bloomerang a status quo hack and farce.

Now what great understanding and feeling he must bring to a city he has never lived in.

]]>By: Easy Onehttp://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/30/former-indianapolis-mayor-joins-bloomberg-administration/comment-page-1/#comment-664385
Sat, 01 May 2010 14:59:06 +0000http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/30/former-indianapolis-mayor-joins-bloomberg-administration/#comment-664385“Mr. Goldsmith, 63, has never lived in New York City, and conceded that “I don’t know nearly enough” about it. But, he said, “I know a lot about how to run a government.”

I can see it now. “Mr. Goldsmith, the people in Long Island City are demanding better trash collection service.” “Tell them to call their own city hall. We only handle New York City”

]]>By: carlhttp://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/30/former-indianapolis-mayor-joins-bloomberg-administration/comment-page-1/#comment-664377
Sat, 01 May 2010 14:31:37 +0000http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/30/former-indianapolis-mayor-joins-bloomberg-administration/#comment-664377This is just bloomberg padding up campaign advisers (at taxpayer expense) for his future run at higher office. This is just an old mid-western insider to give GOP credibility and tips about what to say to middle America. He’s just trying to cover the bases. Do you think wolfson does anything remotely involved in running the city ? He’s too stupid, he’s just good at picking fights with Washington that bloomberg has to back down from. Like a corporate takeover, it’s divide and conquer.
]]>By: Johnny, Brooklynhttp://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/30/former-indianapolis-mayor-joins-bloomberg-administration/comment-page-1/#comment-664369
Sat, 01 May 2010 14:19:55 +0000http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/30/former-indianapolis-mayor-joins-bloomberg-administration/#comment-664369What a bunch of complainers on this blog! I think this is great. This is a well-respected and intelligent man who knows a lot about running a city and he wants to come here. It is good to get some new blood and new ideas, both into our city and into the administration. Good luck Mr. Goldsmith.

This job is the deputy mayor for operations. Operations is the nuts and bolts of the city, picking up garbage, filling potholes, plowing snow, etc. Why should I care if he’s an R or D?

Johnny
(A registered D in Brooklyn)

]]>By: Charliehttp://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/30/former-indianapolis-mayor-joins-bloomberg-administration/comment-page-1/#comment-664367
Sat, 01 May 2010 14:16:56 +0000http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/30/former-indianapolis-mayor-joins-bloomberg-administration/#comment-664367Goldsmith is undoubtedly qualified, but good luck dealing with the NYC workforce and entrenched inefficiencies of city government. He faces a steep learning curve, but at least he’s not completely dependent on the Mayor for his future. The question is, does he have enough time (or does the Mayor have the will) to make innovative changes in city government in the remainder of his term, or is this a mark of desperation and a reflection of the Mayor’s depleted ranks of bright young things to insert into high-level jobs.
]]>By: Acetracyhttp://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/30/former-indianapolis-mayor-joins-bloomberg-administration/comment-page-1/#comment-664333
Sat, 01 May 2010 12:09:12 +0000http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/30/former-indianapolis-mayor-joins-bloomberg-administration/#comment-664333Bloomberg’s recipe for government is to raise Taxes, but not on his economic class. Our little coop bldg here in Chelsea has seen its real estate taxes triple in 8 years!! Yes Triple!!

Plus sales taxes just went up. Sewer and water taxes have tripled under Bloomberg.

What has also gone up. Salaries of Bloomberg’s personal staff. Tell me, how many economic planners does NYC need to tell Bloomberg to build another stadium like we are getting in Brooklyn?

Bloomberg’s rule mirrors the tactics and policies of the Medici’s in Florence: all about their own glory.